Iraq war veteran thrown off train after ticket row as conductor tells him: 'It's not as if you've taken a bullet'

Wednesday 13 August 2008 13:19 BST

Rifleman Zachary Hoyland: Outraged by his treatment

A soldier returning from Iraq in full combat uniform was thrown off a train after a ticket inspector demanded proof he was eligible for an Armed Forces discount.

Rifleman Zachary Hoyland, 19, had been unable to pick up his Services railcard from barracks and was told the cheaper ticket he had been bought was not valid without it.

But the official refused to show any leniency, instead telling him: 'I don't know what you are complaining about.

'It's not as if you've taken a bullet or anything.'

With the help of a friendly passenger, Rifleman Hoyland had already managed to find the extra £50.50 he needed to pay the full fare.

But he was understandably outraged by the 'bullet' remark and swore at the ticket inspector - who, to the disbelief of other passengers, ordered him off the train at the next station.

After a gruelling three-day journey from the Iraqi front line, Rifleman Hoyland was forced to disembark at Chesterfield and had to wait for another train to take him the final ten miles to his home in Sheffield.

The soldier, who was wearing body armour and carrying his helmet and Army backpack at the time, yesterday admitted he had lost his temper.

But he insisted he did not physically harm the ticket inspector, who he accused of 'not liking squaddies'.

'People on the train were looking at him and couldn't believe what he was doing, and after I got off a bloke came over who had been on the train and said it was disgraceful,' he said.

'I admit I was kicking off, but I couldn't believe he said that.

'Luckily none of my mates out there were killed, but for all he knew my best friend could have died. He doesn't know anything and had no right to say something like that.'

He added: 'I was nearly home when the ticket was checked and he said I had to pay £50.50 extra.

'I wasn't happy, but in the end I offered to pay the difference between a discounted and a normal ticket.

'With the help of a girl on the train, I scraped together the money, but when he made that "taking a bullet" comment it really wound me up.

'It had been a long three days from Iraq and I was one stop from home. I said a few things that I shouldn't have.

'He told me to get off the train. I didn't want any trouble, I just wanted to get home so I got off and used the ticket to get on the next train.'

Rifleman Hoyland had been serving in Um Quasar in Iraq with 1st Battalion, The Rifles, guarding a naval port, escorting troops and carrying out search and patrol operations.

After flying back from Iraq, he had been unable to pick up his possessions at the barracks in Chepstow because it was closed.

The soldier said he was issued with the discounted ticket at Chepstow Station without a problem.

'I was in full deserts because I had no civilian clothes with me, so obviously I was coming home from duty,' he added.

His mother Samantha Wood, 40, said her son had volunteered to go to Iraq and is heading for Afghanistan in October.

'The whole episode is absolutely disgusting,' she added.

'He has been in Iraq fighting and serving his country. He is not asking for any recognition for anything.

'People were clapping and cheering him when they saw his uniform.'

A spokesman for Cross Country Trains said the company takes allegations of verbal assault on its staff very seriously.

He added: 'There will be no discounts available without an Armed Forces railcard. We will investigate this if the gentleman concerned wishes to contact us directly.'

Discrimination against troops in uniform led to Gordon Brown requesting an investigating into public attitudes towards the Armed Forces.

The result was a proposal for a criminal offence outlawing discrimination against servicemen and women wearing their uniform in public.

In previous cases, troops returning from Afghanistan were told to change into civilian clothes before landing at Birmingham Airport, while in Peterborough RAF personnel were banned from wearing uniform in town because of the verbal abuse they received.